Rural Iraq Shows Gains in Peace and ProgressWhile war is still raging in Baghdad and Mosul, U.S. commanders have established some calm in parts of the Iraq countryside. Iraqis, including local Baathist heavyweights from the Saddam years, have stepped forward to fill such key positions as mayor and police chief. But to assert their authority, they feel they need more money from U.S. officials. At a meeting in Hammam al-Alil, a town south of Mosul, a rural police chief has learned that he can't have $400,000 to paint his station.

While war is still raging in Baghdad and Mosul, U.S. commanders have established some calm in parts of the Iraq countryside. Iraqis, including local Baathist heavyweights from the Saddam years, have stepped forward to fill such key positions as mayor and police chief. But to assert their authority, they feel they need more money from U.S. officials. At a meeting in Hammam al-Alil, a town south of Mosul, a rural police chief has learned that he can't have $400,000 to paint his station.